Finally, finally I found the celery seed (radhuni in Bengali) in the Indian grocery store after searching for almost nearly one and half year. Since last year I was literally hunting for this and went in every other Indian grocery store and super markets nearby to me. Now at last I can make the Bengali authentic pachphoron mix. Last week when I found the packet of celery seeds hanging in the spice aisle in the store, I grabbed it in no time. By that time I already made the list of recipes on my mind which I am going to make with the celery seed. That day only, I made Masoor dal (red lentil) with tempering of celery seed and ate my whole rice with the dal only in the lunch. Ohh!! what a taste. It reminds me of home.
In the weekend, we usually try to eat some fancy food as dinner. I was turning the pages of a cookbook for recipe on Friday night, suddenly the idea of this recipe just clicked in my mind. I was a bit reluctant at first but the flavours of panchphoron can never get wrong.
Now Panch means “five” and phoron is “spices”, hence the common translation "Bengali Five-Spices use for tempering”. In Bengal we use that five whole spice mix for tempering the oil in almost every vegetarian dishes. It gives a distinct aromatic pungency to the dish which adds a wonderful depth and flavour to it.
Typically, panchphoron consists of fenugreek seed, nigella seed, cumin seed, black mustard seed and fennel seed in equal parts. In Bengal, panchphoron is normally made with celery seed (radhuni) instead of mustard seed which gives a distinct flavour and taste compare to others.
I have used my homemade panchphoron (consists of fenugreek seed, nigella seed, cumin seed, black mustard seed and fennel seed) along with celery seed for the chicken roast and served it with homemade hot tamarind sauce and pickled onion.
Tips:
For my homemade panchphoron, I have used equal quantity of nigella seed, cumin seed, black mustard seed and fennel seed and half the quantity of fenugreek seed, as it has a bitter flavour.
It's a little bit tricky to get celery seed every where. So, instead of celery seed, celery stalk can be used. For 1 tsp of celery seed, use 1 tbsp of celery stalk paste as a replacement.
You can skip the celery seed from the recipe, if you are unable to get it. Normal Panchphoron mix also gives the dish a nice aroma.
I used mustard oil in the recipe, you can substitute with oil of your choice.
Panchphoron Murgi roast:
Ingredients :
For Chicken Roast:
2 Chicken Maryland (600 gm)
2 tbsp Hung Curd
1 tsp Paprika or Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
2 tbsp Lime/Lemon juice
1/2 tbsp roasted Chickpea flour
1/2 tsp crushed Garlic
1/2 tsp Panchphoron whole, 1/2 tsp crushed lightly
1/2 tsp Celery seed whole, 1/2 tsp crushed lightly
1 tbsp finely chopped Onion
2 whole dried Red Chilli
1 1/2 tbsp Mustard oil
Salt as per taste
1/2 tsp Ghee or Clarified Butter
For Hot Tamarind Sauce:
2 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tsp Lime/Lemon juice
1 tsp Paprika or Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
1/2 tsp Panchphoron whole
1/2 tsp Celery seed whole
8-10 green Chilies
2 whole dried red Chilli
1/2 tsp Mustard oil
Salt and Sugar as per taste
For Pickled Onion:
1 medium sized Onion, cut in ring shaped
2 tbsp Vinegar
2 slit green Chilies
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 cup Water
Recipe :
Chicken Roast:
Wash the chicken, pat dry and score it with knife. keep it in a bowl.
Heat 1/2 tbsp mustard oil in a pan. When the oil become smoking hot, change the temperature to low. Add 1/2 tsp whole panchphoron, 1/2 tsp whole celery seed and the whole red chilli.
When the spices begin to crackle, add crushed garlic and chopped onion to the oil. Fry it for 2-3 minutes until the onions become lightly browned.
Add this flavoured oil to the chicken along with hung curd, paprika, turmeric powder, 1 tbsp lemon juice, roasted chickpea flour and 1 1/2 tsp salt.
Coat the chicken well with the marinate, crush the fried whole red chilli while mixing the marinate to the chicken.
Keep the chicken aside for at least 2 hours.
After 2 hours, heat the rest of the oil in a heavy bottom pan and add the chicken pieces. The temperature will be moderate high.
Fry the chicken for 5 minutes until lightly browned. Now change the temperature to moderate low and put the lid on.
The chicken will cook in its own juices. Cook it for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Sprinkle some water if needed.
When the chicken becomes fully cooked, turn the temperature to medium high, add the ghee, lemon juices and crushed panchphoron and celery.
Check for seasoning. If needed, sprinkle some salt.
Fry it for 2 -3 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Give at least 5 minutes resting time.
Hot Tamarind Sauce :
Take all the ingredients except oil and grind it to a smooth paste. If needed put some water.
Heat up the oil in a pan. Add the paste to it.
Boil it for 2 to 3 minutes. Check for the seasoning.
When the sauce become thick, turn off the heat.
Hot tamarind sauce is ready. Keep it aside.
Pickled Onion:
In a bowl, add all the ingredients for pickling.
keep as it is for at least 1 hour.
After an hour, strain it and discard the water.
Lightly pat dry the onion with paper towel.
Pickled onion is ready. keep it aside.
Serve the hot roasted chicken with the tamarind sauce and pickled onion.
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